Inside the Journey to Accounting Firm CEO

Podcast

Summary

• Becoming CEO
• “What’s Next” Call
• Value-Based Pricing

Connect with Peisner Johnson

• Visit the Peisner Johnson website
• Fill out a “What’s Next” form for a free chat
• Email their Director of Sales and Marketing, Ryan

Meet Jason Parr

Jason Parr is the CEO of Peisner Johnson, a state and local tax accounting firm that’s been around since 1992. Jason started with the firm as a staff assistant 25 years ago and has worked his way up to CEO. Currently, the firm has 25 employees and serves sellers in the United States and Canada. 

Since law changes in 2018, state and local taxes have become more complicated so Peisner Johnson has really stepped up to serve their clients as best as possible. Their executive team, led by Jason as CEO, has implemented new strategies to grow their relationships with their clients. “What’s Next” calls and value-based pricing are just two of the ways they’ve improved their customer (and employee) experience and Jason explains how in this episode of the Growing Your Firm Podcast. 

Becoming CEO

Jason spent 25 years working his way up to CEO at Peisner Johnson. Throughout his career, he learned that growing in your positions means being good at managing your work and managing people, you have to be good at both. 

Jason also learned that as CEO, unless you have someone who is focused on your sales and marketing, that should be your main focus. Branding, messaging, and growing your firm deserves the bulk of your attention. 

As a firm, they use the motto “own the growth”. It refers to everything from client relationships, personal development, and professional development. They’ve spent a large amount of time building relationships as Jason has found that is a huge key to success. He says when everyone is clear on doing what they love to do for the people they love to do it for, the firm as a whole runs much more smoothly. 

Get everything you need to manage projects and meet deadlines.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, and get 32 free accounting workflow templates today!​​

sign me up!

Jason and his team quickly realized state and local taxes can be complicated and so they adjusted their services by adding consulting to better connect with their customers. They’ve also created a “What’s Next” call, which is a way for them to connect with potential customers for free. Because it is not a sales call or consultation, Jason and his team are more than happy to have the call with people, even if they do not convert into a client.

In addition to helping people what to do next, the “What’s Next” call was created to answer three common questions related to state and local tax: 

• Do I have a Nexus?
• Is what I sell taxable?
• How do I sell my items?

When these questions aren’t answered, it makes taxes much more difficult than they need to be. The free “What’s Next” call is meant to help people better understand state and local taxes and is unique to their firm, which Jason believes is very helpful for brand development and building relationships.

Value-Based Pricing

Another way Jason has improved his client relationships is through value-based pricing. Roughly five years ago the firm made the switch from hourly pricing, and Jason immediately began seeing results. 

Value-based pricing eliminates the hourly billing which often led to conflict or time spent explaining invoices to clients. It also gives the clients the price upfront, so there are no questions down the road. 

His team determines the cost of the project through their value counsel. Members of the value counsel work together to come up with a price that matches the project. Through this process, Jason has seen a 35% profit margin, where hourly pricing only led to a 20% profit margin.

Not only did value-based pricing improve client relationships, but it also improved employee experiences because there was no longer a need for tracking hours or proving how long it took them to do what. 

Jason’s growth into the CEO position has improved branding for Peisner Johnson, brought in a unique way to cater to customers, and even improved employee experience. You can learn more about Jason and his journey to accounting firm CEO by listening to the full podcast above!